Orifice fitting



March 26, 1935. P. H. WILKINSON 1,995,490

ORIFICE FITTING Filed Nov. 23, 1931 2 sheets-sheet 1 March 26, 1935. 9 P. H. WILKINSON ORIFIGE FITTING Filed Nov. 23, l19261 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Patentecl Mar. 26, 1935 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE ommen r'l'nrnw.y Y' rain n'. Wilkinson, nnniingion Pork, conf. Application-November 23, 1931, Serial No. 576,799

Claims. (el. 'z3-167) My invention relates to improvements in tical section of the fitting, taken longitudinally of orice fittings of that type which is usually althe line of piping in which the fitting may be though not exclusively employed in pipe lines for used, showing the plug in what I have chosen maintaining a constant regulated flow of oil, gas to term "normal position, that is with the oril5 or other fluid through the line. It has been cusce plate interceptng the ow of fluid through 5 tomary in fittings of this type to employ orice the main duct or channel traversing the plug and plates having a selected size or diameter of orifice body. which enables an orice of a selected size to be In the drawings, A indicates the body or casing permanently used in a tting for gauging the of my improved fitting in which is a suitable -ow of fluid permitted by the fitting. These chamber defining a plug seat 10 tapering down- 10 orifice plates require inspection, cleaning, ex- Wardly and formed with a pair ofaligned main change or repairs from time to time due to the line ports or ducts 11 and 12 extending laterally collection of sediment, sludge, etc., and when from the sides of said body and terminating in making such inspection, cleaning, exchange or flange coupling elements 13 and 1,4 for attaching 15 repairs, it has been generally necessary to shut the body of the fitting to a pipe line for gauging l5. oil the flow of uid through the line or to use the flow of fluid therethrough. Fitting tightly complicated and Kexpensive'. equipment to mainand adapted to turn about a vertical axis in said tain uninterruptedy service. It is an object of body upon the seat 10 is a downwardly tapering this invention to-provide a fitting which overplug B, having an upwardly extending stem l5,

.20, comes these objectionsin a simple and effective to the upper extremity of' which .a wrench or 20.

manner and by the use of simplified construction, other tool may be applied for turning the plug. thus saving time, labor and expense. Therefore, A cover plate' 16 secured by bolting at 1'1 or other one of the principal objects of this invention is suitable means on the body of the fitting serves to enable an operator tol remove the orifice plate to assist in holding the plug tightly upon its seat.

from its support and thence from the plug and Also a packing gland member 1'8, compressing 25, allow a. substitute orificev plate of the same or by bolts 19, suitable packing 19' around the stem different size to be replaced without shutting off 15, holds the plug rotatably in the body and asthe ow of fluid through the tting and its consists inproducing a tight joint to prevent leaking nected pipe line. Among further objects is to around the plug in the body. lThe plug is pref- 30 vprovide means for lubricating the parts of an erably a ground t upon its seat to also assist in 30 orifice fitting and of overcoming in an efficient preventing vany leaking. 'I'he body of the fitting and effective manner substantially all possibility is formed with a closed lifting chamber 20 below of any of the working parts of the device sticking the plug for receiving and holding grease or other or requiring other than a wrench for operating lubricant under pressure in a manner as will be the parts of the'device. With'these and other hereinaftein described.

objects in'view my invention comprises the fea- The plug has a transverse main duct 21, which turesof construction and combination of parts corresponds in diameter with and is adapted in hereinafter described and claimed. one position of the plug to register with the In the accompanying drawings forming part axially ,disposed main line ports or ducts 11 and v10 of this specication, Fig. 1 is a vertical section 12 inthe bodytoconduct the ow of fluid through of my improved tting taken .transversely of the the tting preferably in the direction of the arline of piping in which the fitting may be used, rows shown in Fig. 3. ,what I have chosen to term the plug or core Breferably although not necessarily cast intebeing turned into a position by-passing the flow gral with the plug and substantially midway beof uid around the orifice plate andsaid orifice tween the ends of the main duct 21 is an annulus 45= plate facing the hand hole in the fitting in readi-v 22, to the surface of which on the up stream side ness for cleaning or exchange, as provided by my 24 thereof is secured by screws 23 or other suitinvention; Fig. 2 is a vertical section on a'someable means, an'oriflce .plate C of any suitable size what reduced scale of my improved orifice fitting and shape for gauging the flow of fluid through taken iongitudinauy of the line of piping in the nitingf As any fluid passes through the nt- 50' which the fitting may be used, said plugl beingr ting in the direction shown by the arrows in Fig. turned into a position in which the flow of fluid 3the pressure on the upstream side 24 is higher is by-passed around the orifice in the plug and than the pressure on the down stream side 25 said orice in position facing the hand hole in in exact proportion to the flow of fluid passing the'side of the fitting, and Fig. 3 is another verthe orice 26 in the orifice plate. 'I'he pressure 5.5-

on the upstream side may be led to a meter (not shown) through registering ducts 27 and 28 while the pressure on the down stream side may be led to a meter (not shown) through registering ducts 29 and 30. Said registration of these meter connections is effected when the main transverse duct 21 in the plug is in complete registration with the the main line ports 11 and 12 in the `body A. Said meter ducts 28 and 30 lead through the iianges 13 and 14 respectively and terminate in internally threaded openings 31 for convenience in securing meter connections.

As one of the objects of the invention is to enable the operator to remove the orifice plate C from its supporting annulus and thence from the body A, and to allow a substitute orifice plate of the same or a different size to be placed on the annulus, without shutting off the fiow of fluid through the orifice fitting, the orifice plate is made accessible through a hand hole D entering the side of the body A when the plug is turned 90 degrees from the original line so thatlthe orifice plate faces across the line of flow toward a removable bolt secured plate 32 which normally closes and seals the hand hole. When the plug assumes this position, that is across the line of flow, the plug connects through rotation with the registering bleeder ducts 33 and 34, thereby releasing any pressure in the chamber connected with the hand hole through the continuous duct 33 and 34 to the atmosphere. The operator is now able to remove plate 321 and enter the space D to inspect, clean, remove or exchange the orice plate C as desired or to clean and inspect duct 21.

The plug is formed with a bifurcated by-passage 40 around duct 21, terminating in port connecting openings 41 and 42, whichare adapted to register respectively with the main line ports or ducts 11 and 12 when the plug is turned 90 degrees from the original line so that the orifice plate faces across the line of flow. The iiuid under this condition continues to pass through the plug and the fiow through the main line is uninterrupted while the operator has free access to the orifice plate through the hand hole D. It will be noted that the ports 11 and 12, in the wall of the body or casing A and transverse main duct 21, through the plug are of even diameter and have solid walls containing no other ports or ducts (excepting the meter take off ducts 27 to 30 inclusive) and that the edges of said ports 11 and 12 and duct 21 coincide, leaving no cavities which might destroy continuity of the flow of the fluid both before and behind the orifice plate 26. There must be a perfectly smooth round bore before and behind the orice plate throughout the entire length of the fitting. These features are highly` important with the use of orifice meters or differential gauges because any counter currents and eddies formed by any virregularities in the passage for the fluid near the orifice plate and meter take oi ducts tends to restrict or alter the amount of fluid passing the orifice for any certain specified drop in pressure across said orifice.,

-wall of the plug is adapted to register with a positioning socket 44 in the wall of the body A. Said socket is threaded to receive a protecting plug 45 when not used.`

'I'he plug is lubricated upon and lifted from its seat to produce free turning at all times and prevent sticking by the following construction. Situated in the stem 15 of the plug is a downward passage 45 terminating above the .chamber within the plug and provided with a compressing screw 46 which when turned is adapted to compress stick grease or other lubricantplaced in said passage, downwardly through a check valve 47 at the lower end of said passage into a lubricant feeding duct 48. Said duct 48 is connected with a pair of annular lubricating horizontal channels 49 and 50 near the upper and lower portions of the conical face of the plug and with intersecting longitudinal ducts 51 which lead downwardly into the plug lifting chamber 20 in the casing below the plug. Bythis means the seat between the plug B and body A is efficiently lubricated by compressed grease under pressure or other lubricant and the plug is lifted by hydraulic pressure created in chamber 20, thus making the plug proof against leaking and sticking and thoroughly lubricating the adjacent surfaces of the plug and body to facilitate turning.

In accordance with the patent statutes, I have described the principles of operation of my invention, together with the construction thereof which I now consider to represent the best embodiment thereof, but I desire to have it understood that the structure shown is only illustrative and that the invention can be carried out by other means and applied to uses other than those above set forth within the scope of the following claims.

Having described my invention, what I claim as 39W and desire to secure by Letters Patent is:

orifice fitting, comprising, a body having a plug chamber, a pair of oppositely disposed main ingress and egress ports-of substantially even diameter entering said chamber and a hand hold through said body entering said chamber at one side of the line of said ports, and a plug rotatively seated in saidchamber in said body having a main transverse duct of substantially the same diameter as that of said ports and a transverse by-passage through said plug adapted to connect with said ports in another position when said plug is turned, said main transverse duct having an orifice between its ends adapted to gauge'the iiow of fluid therethrough and having solid walls on either side of said orifice and end edges adapted to meet and register with the end edges of said ports to form a uniform passage free from disturbing cavities before and behind said orifice and said main transverse duct being adapted to register with said handV hole to provide access to said orifice when said plug is turned and said by-passage registers with said ports.

2. An orice fitting, comprising, 'a body having a `plug chamber, a pair of oppositely disposed main ingress and egress ports of substantially even diameter entering said chamber and a hand hole through said body entering said chamber at one side of the line of said ports, a plug rotatively seated in said chamber in said body having a main transverse duct of substantially the ends and an orifice plate detachably mounted on said annulus, and said main transverse duct having solid walls on either side of said orifice plate and end edges adapted to meet and register with the end edges of said ports to form a uniform passage before and behind said orifice plate free from disturbing cavities and said main transverse duct being adapted to register`with said hand hole to provide access to said orifice plate when said plug is turned and said by-passage registers with said ports, and said body and plug having meter ducts in registration when the main transverse duct in said plug is in full registration with said ingress and egress ports and communicating with said main transverse duct in said plug in close proximity to one side of said orifice plate to transmit the drop in pressure across said orice plate.

3. An orifice fitting, comprising, a body having a plug chamber, a pair of oppositely disposed main ingress and egress ports of substantially even diameter entering said chamber and a hand hole through said body entering said chamber at one side of the line of said ports, and a plug rotatively seated in said chamber in said body having a main transverse duct of substantially the same diameter as that of said ports and a transverse by-passage through said plug adapted to connect with said ports in another position when said plug is turned, said main transverse duct having an oriiice between its ends adapted to gauge the ow of iiuid therethrough and having solid walls on either side of said orifice and end edges adapted to meet and register with the end edges of said ports to form a uniform passage free from disturbing cavities before and behind said oriflce and said main transverse duct being adapted to register with said hand hole to provide access to said orice when said plug is turned and said by-passage registers with said ports, and said body and plug having bleeder ducts which are adapted to register when the main duct in said plug is in full registration with said hand hole to release fluid under pressure in said main duct.

4. An orice tting, comprising, a body having a plug chamber, a pair of oppositely disposed main ingress and egress ports of substantially even diameter entering said chamber and a hand hole through said body entering said chamber at one side of the line of said ports, a plug rotatively seated in said chamber in said body having a main transverse duct of substantially the same diameter as that of said ports, and a transverse by-passage through said plug adapted to connect with said ports in another position when said plug is turned, said main transverse duct having a transverse annulus between its ends and an oriiice plate detachably mounted on said annulus, and said main transverse duct having solid walls on either side of said orifice plate and end edges adapted to meet and register with the end edges of said ports to form a uniform passage before and behind said orifice plate free from disturbing cavities and said main transverse duct being adapted to register with said hand hole to provide access to said orice plate when said plug is turned and said by-passage registers with said ports, and said body and plug having a pair of small meter ducts on each side of said orifice plate, said meter ducts of each pair being in registration when the main transverse duct in said plug is in full'registration with said ingress and egress ports and out of registration by a slight degree of turn of said plug and adapted to transmit drop in pressure across both sides of said orifice plate.

5. An orifice fitting, comprising, a body having a plug chamber, a pair of oppositely disposed main ingress and egress ports of substantially even diameter entering said chamber and a hand hole through said body entering said chamber at one side of the line of said ports, a plug rotatively seated in said chamber in said body having a main transverse duct of substantially the same diameter as that of said ports and a transverse by-passage through said plug adapted to connect with said ports in another position when said plug is turned, said main transverse duct having an orifice between its ends adapted to gauge the now of nuid therethrough and having solid walls on either side of said orifice and end edges adapted to meet and register with the end edges of said ports to form a uniform passage free from disturbing cavities before and'behind said orifice and said main transverse duct being adapted to register with said hand hole to provide access to said orifice when said plug is turned and said by-passage registers with said ports, said plug having an operating stem by which it may be rotated, a packing gland between said plug and body, lubricant distributing ducts disposed to conduct lubricant between the Working surfaces of said plug and body and means for compressing and urging lubricant through said lubricant distributing ducts.

PAUL H. wiLKmsoN. 

